Improvement in tools for forming the necks and orifices of glass bottles



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT MACLARDY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO MARK TV. WATSON AND JOI-TN MC. M. KING, COMPOSING THE FIRM OF TV. MCCULLY aco., or SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOOLS FOR FORMlNG THE NECKS AND ORIFICES 0F GLASS BOTTLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 27,333, dated February 2S, 1860.

To 60H whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT MACLARDY, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tools for Forming the Necks and Oriiices of Glass Bottles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective representation of a tool constructed with my improvements. Fig. 2 is one of the lugs of my improved tool detached from the leg of the tool. Fig. 3 is the plug detached from the central rod.

My improvement consists in making the lugs and plug of tools for forming the neck and mouth of glass bottles of cast-iron instead of steel, for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improvement inm glass-bottle tools, T will proceed to describe its construction and operation. Y

Excepting in the particular hereinbefore stated, tools constructed with my improvements may be made of the ordinary shape and material.

The spring or bow is made of steel bent over so as to form two legs a a of equal length and tapering toward their extremities.

7o b are the lugs by which the outside shape of the mouth of the glass bottle is determined. These lugs are usually made of steel and of one piece with the legs of the spring. The inner face of thelugs are so curved or grooved as to give the requisite shape to the bottles mouth. From the center of the curve of the spring-bow a rod of iron c hangs down between the legs. This rod is kept in place by a cross-piece or guide d, the end points of which pass through holes in the legs of the Spring-bow a short distance above the lugs, and the rod c, which at this point is squared, passes rather loosely through a square opening in the guide d midway from either end. This arrangement allows the free play of the legs of the spring to and from the rod while it keeps the rod in place. At the extremity of the rod c is the plug e, which is pointed at the end, but enlarges toward the base where it is united to the extremity of the rod, the diameter of the plug at its base and for a short distance toward its point being equal to the required inside diameter of the neck of the bottle.

The plug e in tools as heretofore constructed is made of steel and of one piece with the rod c. The constructing of the lugs b Z9 and the plug e of steel in one piece 'with the parts of the tool to which they are respectively at tached makes these tools very expensive, es-

pecially as the plug and lugs, being the parts which wear out, could not be renewed. One of my improvements, however, consists in making both the plug and lugs of cast-iron and detachable from the bow and rod. The plug is cast of the required shape and has a screw-hole n tapped into it, in which the end ofthe rod is screwed, so that whenever the plug is worn out or a different size or shapel of plug is desired to be used it may easily be removed and a new one inserted in its place. The lugs also are made of cast-iron with the inner face smoothed and polished and of the proper shape to give the required form to the outside of the mouth of the bottle. Each lug` has a hole cast in it, (see i, Fig. 2,) the center of which is parallel to the sides of the lug and midway from either end. This hole is rectangular and oblong at the top, but tapers downward to the bottom, where it is small and round and is shaped like the extremity of the legr of the springbow which passes through it, a shoulder 7L on each leg at the proper point preventing the lng passing up too far, and a nut or washer 7c, screwed on the point of the leg which projects below the lug, keeps it iirmly in place, the lug being prevented from turning on the leg by the rectangular shape of the upper part of the hole and corresponding shape of that part of the leg on which it is placed. It is manifest that these lugs and the plug may be readily cast of any required shape and size at very slight cost, and that an indefinite variety of lugs and plugs may be made to iit on one tool, so that instead of having a large number of very expensive tools to suit the various sizes of bottles and different-shaped mouths to be made a manufacturer need only have a few tools and procure a supply of comparatively inexpensive castiron lugs and plugs. But it is not merely the cheapness of the article or the ease of construction Which renders cast-iron lugs so desirable; but I have discovered that there is a very important difference in the effect of the cast-iron on the surface of the glass which renders the cast-iron lugs and plugs greatly preferable, even if they Were not otherwise so very advantageous.

The effect of the contact of the steel lugs and plugs with the soft and heated glass is to injure the enamel of the glass, While the castiron lugs do not have this injurious eect, but leave the surface of that partof the glass with which they come in contact With a iine polish, preserving the natural enamel of the glass. This is a great advantage, as it obviates one of the objections to the use of the steel tool and produces a better iinished article of glassware.

Another great benefit arising from the use 0f cast-iron lugs and plugs is that they require a much smaller amount of beeswax to be used as a lubricator. With the steel tools the use of a large amount of beeswax is necessary, but the cast-iron tools do not require One-half the quantity. This is a great saving to the manufacturer.

Besides the advantages above named arising from the use ofthe cast-ironlugs and plug, instead of making these parts of steel as heretofore done, I Would state that I have found that the Workman can Work faster With castiron lugs and plug to his tool, because the cast-iron cools the'nose or orifice of the glass bottle much faster than the steel, so that the glass sooner sets in the required shape. The steel lugs Wear away much faster than the cast-iron lugs at the part Where the mouth of the bottle comes in contact with the metal, and the cast-iron lugs are much less liable to crack than those made of steel. Thus the cast-iron lugs are a great improvement, saving time of the Workman, making a better finish to the glass, being more durable, cheaper in themselves, and eiecting a great saving in the amount of Wax employed.

Having thus described my improvement in tools for forming the mouths of glass bottles, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

Making the lugs and the plugs of cast-iron instead of steel, for the purposes hereinbefore described.

R. MACLARDY.

Inpresence of- W. BAKEWELL, MARTIN G. CUsHING. 

